If you could pick 1 player in history to guard Jokic who would you pick?

[ardee]

I'm a little surprised to see so many people choosing undersized guys like Draymond and Rodman after watching this playoff run.

I imagine the thinking is you need someone quick enough to keep up with Jokic on the perimeter given his shooting and ball-handling skills. I feel like if you put someone like Duncan on him and forced him out to the 3-point line he'd get put on skates.

[70sFan]

I'm a little surprised to see so many people choosing undersized guys like Draymond and Rodman after watching this playoff run.

I imagine the thinking is you need someone quick enough to keep up with Jokic on the perimeter given his shooting and ball-handling skills. I feel like if you put someone like Duncan on him and forced him out to the 3-point line he'd get put on skates.

I think I prefer Jokic shooting 10 threes per game than destroying my team inside.

[Tomtolbert]

Olajuwon, Rodman, or early prime Duncan

[cupcakesnake]

I'm a little surprised to see so many people choosing undersized guys like Draymond and Rodman after watching this playoff run.

I imagine the thinking is you need someone quick enough to keep up with Jokic on the perimeter given his shooting and ball-handling skills. I feel like if you put someone like Duncan on him and forced him out to the 3-point line he'd get put on skates.

I think I prefer Jokic shooting 10 threes per game than destroying my team inside.

I also think people are vastly overrating the kind of threat Jokic's shooting and mobility present. Jokic only shoots 3s as a counter to punish the defense for over protecting the paint. He'll also shoot the occasional desperation 3 off the dribble, a few of which he hit these playoffs in spectacular fashion.

But there's few worlds in which Jokic's primary source of offense is jacking 3s and dribbling past his 3 being overplayed. If you want to stop Jokic from hitting 3s, you can totally do that. It's just not the best allocation of defensive resources and Jokic is going to punish you worse for overplaying the 3. Jokic also isn't putting guys on skates with his mobility and ball handling. His primary physical attribute is his strength/size. When he attacks a close out, he's getting a shoulder on his man and looking to create some seperation for his runner/floater shot. He can definitely counter with his nice handles whenever a defender overplays something, but his first option is still to bludgeon his way into range where he can best use his awesome shooting touch.

I'm a little confused that people are imagining Jokic just being TOO FAST for Tim Duncan. Like where did this come from? The man isn't getting a step on anyone, which is fine because he doesn't need a step to get to his best shots. I don't believe we've ever seen and undersized player have any success against Jokic. Draymond made some amazing plays but still had an impossible time contesting most of his shots. Any time we've seen Jokic bother a little in the playoffs, it's involved some size. Dwight fouling him in 2020, Ayton doing a good job contesting in 2021, Gobert bothering him with length in 2023.

[Laimbeer]

How about Wilt? He had the size and athleticism. There were better defenders, but Wilt was excellent in his own right and is a physical match for Jokic.

[penbeast0]

Wilt didn't like to chase his man outside; multiple comments from teammates in Terry Pluto's "Tall Tales." Don't think that will work on Jokic though, like a Michael Jordan, his pride might kick him in to playing aggressive everywhere defense for a series if he feels disrespected